DIY Mirrored Screen Room Divider

Attach over-the-door mirrors to each side of your privacy screen.

Whether you want to use a privacy screen as a room divider or to hide an unsightly section of your room, such as a home office in a living area, a room divider will shrink the size of the usable space in the room and probably will make the room feel a bit more cluttered as well. One way to combat the closed-in mood some privacy screens create is to attach mirrors to your screen’s panels, causing the panels to somewhat recede visually into the room.

Things You'll Need

• 6 full length rectangular mirrors 3 15-inch-by-50 ¾-inch pine panels, 2 inches thick Sandpaper Primer Paint Paint brush Paint tray Long straight edge 4 brass hinges Drill with bit Mirror mastic caulking tube Caulk gun

Instructions

1. Sand the edges of your pine panels, prime them and then paint the edges. Consider using silver paint, as it matches well with mirrors.

2. Lay your three panels on the floor, all in a row. Check that the panels are properly aligned by placing your long straight edge underneath the panels.

3. Set two hinges on top of the gap between two of the panels, placing one hinge 1 foot from the bottom and the other hinge 1 foot from the top. Mark the locations of the hinges’ screw holes with a pencil. Remove the hinges.

4. Drill pilot holes where you made your marks. Attach the hinges to the panels using the pilot holes and hardware included with the hinges.

5. Flip the two attached panels onto their backsides and leave the other panel as is. Attach the remaining panel to the center panel using the same technique you used to attach the first two panels.

6. Load the mirror mastic into the caulking gun. Apply mastic to the surface of all three panels. Start out by creating a border of mastic around the fronts of the panels, then fill in the center with lines of mastic.

7. Lay a rectangular mirror over each panel, carefully matching the edges of the mirror with the panel’s edges. Allow the mastic to set for at least 24 hours.

8. Turn the privacy screen over. Attach mirrors to the other panels in the same fashion you attached them on the other side. Allow the mastic to dry for at least a day.

9. Stand up the screen, using its accordion-style construction to balance it.

Tips & Warnings

• Find inexpensive, full-length, over-the-door mirrors at most any discount chain superstore, making sure to choose mirrors without frames or backing. This project used mirrors that measured 15-inches by 50 3/4-inches. The measurements for the panels in this project are based on these measurements. If your mirrors have different dimensions, adjust the size of your panels to match them. Have the employees at a hardware store or lumber yard cut the panels to size for you, as most places will do this for at no charge.

• Work with mastic in a well-ventilated area.

References

• HGTV: Build a Hinged Room Divider
• HGTV: How to Build Room Screen Dividers
• Trainor Glass Company: Mirror Installation